A powerful winter storm is expected to leave California an early New Year's gift today: up to 2 feet of fresh snow on Sierra Nevada peaks.

The National Weather Service declared a winter storm warning in the Sierra through 4 p.m. today, with at least a foot of snow expected above 5,000 feet and 2 feet or more at higher elevations. A heavy snow warning was also in effect in the vicinity of Mount Shasta and the Oregon border.

The fast-moving storm, the biggest of the winter so far, was also predicted to drop up to an inch of rain in Sacramento, with wind gusts up to 50 mph in the northern Sacramento Valley.

This blog is part of the ongoing work of the American River Parkway Preservation Society to provide public education and advocacy around public policy issues that may be related to the Parkway and the adjacent communities along the American River in Sacramento, California.